February 16, 2013

LISTEN: Ennio Morricone's "Svolta Definitiva"

If you wake up tomorrow morning and the first sounds to drift through your head are the opening notes of this song, it's a fair bet that you're going to be involved in a wild car chase and/or kill somebody. Just ask Charles Bronson, Telly Savalas, or Jill Ireland, all of whom star in the 1970 Italian crime thriller, Citta Violenta. (Later re-titled The Family for domestic release here in the States. Click here to watch the trailer.)

As usual, Ennio Morricone's soundtrack is something pretty close to godhead, as especially evidenced by "Svolta Definitiva". (Which I have opened many radio shows with—when you get down to it, what better subtexts are there for radio broadcasts than wild car chases and revenge killings?) You can also find the song on the completely excellent (and by now, probably about as scarce as the original Citta Violenta soundtrack) Cherrystones Hidden Charms comp, which also has ace appearances from Dynastie Crisis, the Shadows, Mashmakhan, and Cher. Yes, that Cher.